ECON 3501 - Development Economics III

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2021

This is an intermediate undergraduate course in development economics. The course covers the following topics: the meaning and measurement of economic development, growth theories, poverty and income distribution, the role of geography and institutions, fertility and population growth, the role of credit markets and microfinance, health and nutrition, education, female empowerment.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code ECON 3501
    Course Development Economics III
    Coordinating Unit Economics
    Term Semester 1
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 3 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Assumed Knowledge ECON 2507, & either ECON 2506 or ECON 2514 or ECON 2516
    Course Description This is an intermediate undergraduate course in development economics. The course covers the following topics: the meaning and measurement of economic development, growth theories, poverty and income distribution, the role of geography and institutions, fertility and population growth, the role of credit markets and microfinance, health and nutrition, education, female empowerment.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Jesmin Rupa

    Visiting Lecturer, Dr. Jesmin A Rupa
    Location: Room no. 3.27, Level 3 Nexus 10 (10 Pulteney St)
    Email: jesmin.rupa@adelaide.edu.au
    Consultation hours: Thursday 12.00 pm - 2pm (Face to face)
                                   Wednesday 11.00 am - 12.00 am (Online)
    Please see Zoom link on MyUni (in the Announcements section)
    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes

    On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

    1. Demonstrate familiarity with some central themes and issues of economic development.
    2. Demonstrate the understanding of the difference between growth and development, major growth theories, the measurement of inequality, significance of agricuture in developing countries, poverty and population issues facing the world, international trade, and importance of foreign aid.
    3. Analyse empirical evidence on the patterns of economic development.
    4. Read critically the journal literature in the area of economic development.
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Deep discipline knowledge
    • informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
    • acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
    • accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
    1,2
    Critical thinking and problem solving
    • steeped in research methods and rigor
    • based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
    • demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
    1,2
    Teamwork and communication skills
    • developed from, with, and via the SGDE
    • honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
    • encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
    2,4
    Career and leadership readiness
    • technology savvy
    • professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
    • forward thinking and well informed
    • tested and validated by work based experiences
    1
    Intercultural and ethical competency
    • adept at operating in other cultures
    • comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts
    • able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes
    • demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges
    2,4
    Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
    • a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
    • open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
    • able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
    4
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    Textbook 1: Ray, Debraj: Development Economics.
    Princeton 1998.

    There is a new edition of some chapters & the lecturer will upload them in reading materials whenever needed.

    Textbook 2: Understanding poverty ; 2006. Banerjee, Abhijit V.; Benabou, Roland.; Mookherjee, Dilip. 2006. An online version of this book
    can be accessed through the UOA library, free of charge.

    Other reading materials will be provided by the lecturer.

    Online Learning

    The following websites provide useful insights on current trends in development issues:
    www.worldbank.org
    www.adb.org
    www.wfp.org
    www.povertyactionlab.org


  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes

    Learning in this course is through lectures, tutorials, personal and group study. The format of the teaching consists of two formal lectures of one hour per week, and one tutorial session per week.

    The lectures will provide you with the necessary understanding of the material to be able to solve the exercises you will be given during tutorials or exams.

    Tutorials represent an important learning component of the class. The tutorials consist of 11 weekly sets of problems. Students are expected to work through the assignments independently (or as a group if the question mentions so) and prepare solutions to be discussed or presented during the tutorial time. The tutorial questions will include problem-solving exercises, policy issue discussions and exercises with spreadsheets on actual data.

    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    Students in this course are expected to attend all lectures throughout the semester plus one tutorial class each week. In addition, the workload for this class is designed for 9 hours per week of independent study.

    Learning Activities Summary
    Teaching & Learning Activities Related Learning Outcomes
    Lectures 1 - 3
    Tutorials 3,4

    Lecture Schedule
    Week Topics
    1-2 Introduction, Trends and Patterns of Growth and Development
    3 Theories of Economic Growth
    4 Theories of Economic Growth
    5 Inequality
    6 Poverty
    7 Population
    8 Agriculture
    9 Rural and Urban
    10 International Trade
    11 International Trade
    12 Foreign Aid
    Small Group Discovery Experience
    Some tutorial questions encourage students to work in small groups.
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Due to the current COVID-19 situation modified arrangements have been made to assessments to facilitate remote learning and teaching. Assessment details provided here reflect recent updates.
    Assessment Task Due Date/ Week Weight Length(Word,Time) Learning Outcomes
    Tutorials (weekly online group presentations) Throughout the course 20% TBA 3,4
    Mid-term Exam Week 6 30% 2 hours (in class) 1 - 3
    Final Exam (online) Exam period 50% 3 hours 1 - 3
    Total 100%
    Assessment Related Requirements
    Attendance is expected for all tutorials.
    Assessment Detail

    Tutorial Presentations (30%)
    Students are expected to source materials for the answers to the tutorial problem sets themselves and in discussion with their classmates. Students are expected to discuss their proposed solutions during the tutorials. The quality of tutorial prsentation will be assessed by the tutor.

    Mid semester test (25%)
    Will be held in Week 6, in class. The mid semester test will cover the material developed upto week 5.

    Final Exam (45%)
    There will be a 3 hour exam.
    Please refer to http://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/exams/timetable.html 

    The final exam will cover the full set of material developed in this course. This includes all materials from the lectures and other readings, as well as discussions and exercises considered in the tutorials.
    Submission
    There are no submissions for this course. There are, however, tutorial presentations to be made during the tutorial timing. If you miss a tutorial, you will not receive a grade for that part of the tutorial.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

    Additional Assessment

    If a student receives 45-49 for their final mark for the course they will automatically be granted an additional assessment. This will most likely be in the form of a new exam (Additional Assessment) and will have the same weight as the original exam unless an alternative requirement (for example a hurdle requirement) is stated in this semester’s Course Outline. If, after replacing the original exam mark with the new exam mark, it is calculated that the student has passed the course, they will receive 50 Pass as their final result for the course (no higher) but if the calculation totals less than 50, their grade will be Fail and the higher of the original mark or the mark following the Additional Assessment will be recorded as the final result.
  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.